Rhetoric and reality on EU car emissions targets

As much as 17 percent of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions are the result of road transport, second only to the energy production in terms of emissions.

This is why strengthening the rules on reducing the carbon emissions from cars continues to be on the minds of EU lawmakers.

Car companies are already required to meet a 2015 target of 130 grammes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilometre in the average emissions of new cars sold in the EU.

In June, MEPs and ministers went fu...